


While The World Waits

by Angry_Little_Dragon



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Feels, Childhood Friends, Dean Winchester Has Nightmares, Flashbacks, Haunted Houses, M/M, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23231839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angry_Little_Dragon/pseuds/Angry_Little_Dragon
Summary: In an attempt to reclaim his disaster of a life, Castiel returns to the town he grew up in, thinking an overhaul on an old house will be easy without help. It doesn't take long for that to be proven wrong.The moment Castiel Noval walks into the bar with his brother, Dean nearly does chokes to death on his own tongue. He remembers the way they had parted, so when Castiel awkwardly asks for assistance in restoring an old, dying farm he now owns, he nearly laughs himself off the stool he's perched on, but Gabriel gives him A Look and Cas uses those puppy-dog blues, and - well, the point is, he's stuck doing it, okay?It starts off fragile but fine - until, that is, the house starts meddling in things it shouldn't. Objects appear from nowhere, objects that bring back memories better off left buried. Memories bring back emotions, and suddenly neither of them can separate past from present, reality from illusion. This house has plans for these two, and nothing is going to get in her way - not even Dean or Cas themselves.
Relationships: Benny Lafitte & Dean Winchester, Castiel & Gabriel (Supernatural), Castiel/Dean Winchester, Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
Kudos: 4





	While The World Waits

Castiel decided five minutes into arriving on his new property that the thing he loved most about it was the promise of life that blossomed in every corner.

True, the hanging plants in every room were dried and brown. The fish pond was empty of everything even remotely living, and the water fountain in the front yard had run dry and lost power at some point; it wouldn't turn on no matter how many times Castiel flipped the switch for it. 

Gently, he pulls his roller luggage into the living room and looks around the room. Torn curtains, dingy grey windows, chewed electrical cords. It's not, he decides, very active now. But with time and work - if those plants were thriving, the pond alive with fish, the water fountain an invitation for birds... His chest feels lighter just thinking about what his new house could become.

"This place is a mess," Anna says behind him, peering over his shoulder to take a look around. She'd helped him with the paperwork when he decided to go through on this property and would be here for the next few weeks on and off to help him get settled in and started on the process. He huffs a tiny chuckle and shrugs at her helplessly. 

"Yes, well, so am I," he says with a bright smile. They're lighthearted, honest words; not defeated in the slightest. "I think she and I will get along just fine." His smile stays on his face as they both look around the room. His sister's blue eyes study the house with a more critical expression, one of calculations, of numbers and time and work-to-reward ratios. 

"Why couldn't you get a small, established apartment instead of this place?" It's not said with judgment or out of cruelty, and Castiel is grateful for that. "Why sign yourself up for this?" She is curious, he knows, about why he is putting himself through this when an easier path had been available. 

"It will be a good project," he says simply. He doesn't mention that he felt the house calling to him from the moment he pulled into the driveway. He doesn't mention that he'd the expected path and found it lacking. Anna just hums, walking through to the kitchen and opening the fridge. She grimaces as the door shuts again. He clears his throat. "I've been meaning to thank you for your help. I'm grateful you and Gabe answered the phone the day I called you."

She turns and gives him a kind smile, but there is a soft sadness in her eyes. "We're _always_ here for you, Castiel," she replies, "I just wish it hadn't taken this long for you to see that." It's said with such significance and regret that it makes his mouth go dry. He swallows and looks away, smile falling. Anna pauses for a second. "Have you spoken to Michael lately? I'm sure he'd like to know you're home again."

He tenses, expression turning stony and closed off. Quiet blankets them before he speaks, quiet and subdued. "I think I'll start in the kitchen, what do you think?" The avoidance couldn't be more obvious and he knows it, but Michael is still a sore subject. They'd been close at one point in the past, but Castiel's choices had long since burned that bridge to ash in a way that he wasn't sure could be recovered. 

"Actually," Gabriel says from the front door, causing both of them to jump in surprise. He's leaning with his shoulder on the door frame, hands in his pockets casually, expression twisted in "I was thinking about lunch."

* * *

 _At first, it's the sudden presence and attention of humans that perks the house into awareness. It h_ _as been abandoned and fading - ever so slowly - to ruin for a long enough time that she believed her days of occupancy were over. A_ _s the man walks through, though, she_ _feels his energy call out -_ I am here, let me fix you. _In an almost invisible undercurrent, there is_ longing. _So much of it, the house wonders what he's been through in his short life to carry this much weight upon his shoulders_ _._

 _Of course, thi_ _s man cannot know the contract he is offering. It has been too long since humans stopped using them; the knowledge is dust like so many of the houses before her._ _S_ _he will be cautious; humans, the house knows from experience, are fickle, complex creatures. He could harbor ill intentions, though she strongly suspects this is not the case. Even with good intentions, he is oblivious to her very existence, and so will inevitably stumble and crash. But that is the fun in this: to see them try._

_It has been a long time since there was anything desirable in the house; she has nothing to lure him to stay. Her windows are blurred with dirt or broken, vermin have made her floors and walls repelling, her attic creaks with the wind. Still, she tries. She calls back to him, curls her presence with his and accepts the offering he's reached out._

Fix me, and I shall fix you. Ruin me, and I shall ruin you.

_It is a warning as much as it is a promise._

* * *

Dean _stares._

_It can't be. He left five years ago and swore he'd never be back and -_

"Hello, Dean," Castiel murmurs, his eyes somber and dark. His voice is rough like thunder in a desert rainstorm. Though the words are casual, the guy shifts subtly and can't keep the Winchester's gaze for more than a few seconds at a time, breaking it to look at the ceiling, the door, the bar decor, anything and everything except Dean himself."You..." He pauses, licking his lips. "You look well. It's been a while, hasn't it?" 

_Silence. This could not possibly get more awkward._

"Dean!" Gabriel hisses, elbowing him none too discreetly, and he suddenly jerks back into awareness and out of his surprise. "Uh. Yeah, yeah it has. What brings you back here?" Cas is watching him until he sees Dean notice; then he's back to looking at the ceiling. His gaze raises hairs on the back of Dean's neck; he feels like he's been seen to the core. _He forgot how unnerving that stare was._

"I just moved back today. Do you recall the farm that we used to visit? Over by -"

"Uh, yeah, Seraphim Road. I remember." He blinks. "Wait a minute, you _moved_ there?" He flinches when his voice cracks. Gabriel elbows him again. He grits his teeth and tries not to snap at him. "Sorry, uh... It's - I - What I meant to say is that as far as I remember, that place has been abandoned for years. Hell, it was closed off when we were still in high school."

Castiel nods. "Yes," he agrees. "It has been. I bought it as a project. I'll be restoring it in the coming months if I can get the necessary tools. Anna and Gabriel have agreed to help also."

"Um, yeah, hi, I didn't agree to do any of the work for that house," Gabriel cuts in, shuddering. "I volunteered to keep you and Anna fed and take you to the hospital without embarrassing you when you inevitably get hurt in the process of restoring that junk pile." Cas looks, for a moment, crestfallen, until his brother continues, " _but_ I do know someonewho's been around the building process a long time. I'm sure _he_ would be more than happy to help, _right Deano?"_

Dean nearly chokes on his beer when Gabriel slaps a rough hand on his back. He sputters and coughs until his lungs are clear, wipes at his face with a napkin and throws the man a dirty look. " _Gabriel. Stop. Talking,"_ he growls. He has enough on his plate for the foreseeable future, he does _not_ need any help in that category, thank you very friggin' much. Castiel is already eyeing him hopefully and _what? That look is **not fair,** man, come on. _ "I - I would help, Castiel, but I have other - you know, other projects - stuff I need to do."

"Oh really?" Gabriel asks curiously, eyebrows raised. "Like what?"

"Uh -" He scrambles for excuses. _Building Sammy's old treehouse, giving old people baths, pulling rusty nails out of people's feet - God **anything**_ _would be enough if it got him out of this -_

"Gabriel, stop it," Castiel sighs. "It is fine, Dean, I will manage on my own."

"Cassy - and I say this with all the big-brother-love in my entire body - you really, really won't. That _house_ is too much work, let alone the giant yard and barn you unreasonably want to keep. You almost cried when we found a mouse in the traps we set, for Christ's sake." 

"You didn't tell me it was going to kill them!" Castiel argues. 

*It's a mousetrap, little bro, what exactly did you _expect_ to happen?"

"There's catch-and-release traps too," Dean blurts. "You can get them on pretty much any online shop or I think some pet stores here have them."

Gabriel sends him a _you just proved my point and that was even easier than I expected it to be, thank you so much_ look, and Castiel just looks hopeful for the safety of future vermin. Dean sighs. "Look, I - " **_Fuck, he doesn't know what he's doing._** "I can stop by tomorrow and give you an idea of what you need to address first, at least. If you - if you'd like, I mean." 

_Please say no, please say no, please -_ "If you're sure," Castiel replies slowly, eyes wide with potential hope. "I'd be most appreciative, Dean. Any help would be better than none."

"Right, okay, so - " He clears his throat. "Yeah, okay. Uh. I'll be by around one." He gulps down the rest of his beer and stands. "I gotta - I have to - a thing, I need to get done."

Gabriel, sensing his life expectancy shortening by the second, wisely moves out of the way. Castiel seems - that couldn't have been disappointment, there's no way. 

"I will see you then."

Dean nods and leaves to go bang his head against the wall for the next hour.

_Fuck. His. Life._

_No. Wait._

_Fuck **Gabriel.**_ _Yeah, that sounds better._


End file.
